Conclusion of Actions

Conclusion in this chapter, I have explored different mechanisms for pianoforte actions from the golden age of the pianoforte developments, including, on the upright pianoforte, the sticker action, and the tape check action; on the grand pianoforte, the English action, the German action, the Erard action, and the Steinway action.

From the discussions above, it can be concluded that the makers were intended to build the ideal action in the direction of having a lighter weight key with sensitive touching, as well as having the hammer to not interrupt the string’s vibrations. In modern times, most pianofortes have achieved this. There have been no major mechanical changes in the past 130 years and this action remains as the direct link of the pianist to the pianoforte.

Steinway’s action

Theodore Steinway’s contribution was significant. He added an escapement and a damper to the German action in 1875. These mechanical refinements would prevent pianists from losing motion between the keys and the hammer for the greater part of its journey to the string. The lightness of its action increased, the keys being depressed by a weight of about an ounce, half or a third of that required today. The hammers were covered by leather, in returns producing a more beautiful, even, and thin timbre. This leather coverage has a further advantage as the wedge-shaped dampers can easily stop it; hence, preventing the hammers from bouncing back onto the strings just like the upright pianoforte’s action. Because of these advanced technological characteristics, the pianists were able to have a more direct control of the pianoforte.

Explanation on this action's mechanism:
This action is constructed on a frame of metal tubes filled with hardwoods. This is to adjust to a bigger and heavier hammer head that is used on the pianoforte. While most of the parts are fixed on the metal frame like the Erard’s action, it is left with the hammer and the key that have the flexibility to move. When the key is depressed, the back check will push the hammer head upwards to strike the strings. As the hammer head is directly being pushed upwards, this, results in a more reliable and sensitive touch.

Erard Double Escapement Action

In 1822, a French piano maker Sebastien Erard created the double escapement action. It became the favourite instrument of the nineteenth century composers for the expression of tone poems. Erard’s action was based on Cristofori’s model. His developed action would allow the hammer to speed up the repetition after initial strike. By comparing the Erard’s action with the English grand action, it showed a lighter action, faster repetition, as well as greater reliability. This action remains the basic model for today's grand pianoforte action.

Explanation on this action’s mechanism:
The structure of this action is mainly in one piece. The action is fixed above the key and the damper stops the strings vibration underneath. When the key is depressed, the action above the key will be pushed up. It therefore pulls back the hammer butt and makes it throw towards the strings. On the other hand, the damper releases from the strings because of gravity. After the hammer’s initial strike towards the strings, the check head will move forwards to receive the hammer, waiting for the hammer to make fast repetition if necessary. The hammer weight is also supported by the repetition spring. It enables the repeated sound of the note before the key finally returns to rest. This action will avoid the hammer from blocking or from double striking the strings.

The Grand Action II

The German Action
There has been a mystery defining the term “German Action” because the “German Action” is always mixed together with the “Viennese Action”. It is in fact referring to the same thing. The term “German Action” was first used to refer to the actions made by Stein’s pianos. Until the twentieth century, Prellmechanik used the term “Viennese Action” instead of the so-called “German Action” to represent Stein’s action. Therefore confusion over the term arose. On the other hand, some scholars tried to look for the first action inventor in Vienna in order to solve the difficulty. Unfortunately, they failed to find enough substantial evidences to solve their concerns. Nevertheless, what we can believe is that, the “Viennese Action” was more or less confined to makers in Vienna itself, whereas the pianos from Vienna had an action which was altogether different form the English mechanism. ”

Explanation on this action’s mechanism:
The construction of the “German or Viennese Action” is straightforward. There is no intermediate lever or check head installed. The damper control is installed into the pianoforte body and the hammer‟s movement is reliant up on the kapsel (pivot). As the kapsel is positioned a little bit away from the key, when the key is depressed, the kapsel will only turn slightly, just enough for the hammer to hit the strings. The rise is about 1mm from the strings. This advantage prevents the hammer from blocking or double striking. In addition, because of short distance of the hammer rising, there is no lost motion. This gives the pianists a light and sensitive touch. This is the favourite of the greatest composers, including Haydn and Mozart.

The Grand Action

There are two types of action remaining in use: the “English Action” and the “German Action”.

The English Action
Backers successfully built a grand piano employing the English grand action in 1770. The mechanism was a Cristofori’s modification of wing-shaped design and it was constructed on an English harpsichord. However, in 1777, Stodart issued a patent of his new invented sort of instrument or grand forte piano, and this introduces the term “grand piano” to the public the first time.

Explanation on this action’s mechanism:
The construction of a grand action is different from an upright action. There is no immediate lever in this action, and the striking direction of the hammer is upwards rather than forward. On the construction, the hammer rests on top of the hammer rail while the escapement hopper supports the hammer butt. While the comb register is positioned slightly below the hammer butt in order to hold onto the escapement hopper, the set-off screw does the same thing to the escapement hopper. When the key is depressed, the escapement hopper will push away the hammer butt so that the hammer head will hit the strings. A check head is used to help the returning hammer for repetition as well as the hopper retuning its original position.

However, because the escapement hopper is placed at the middle of the key, it results in a slow response.

The “English Action” removed Cristofori’s intermediate lever and applied a screw to regulate the escapement in its structure. Although it enabled Broadwood to achieve maximum tone from his more resonant pianos, the keyboard retained a heavy touch and slow repetition. This action lacked the brilliance and sparkle of the Viennese type.

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Tap Check Action

How does Wornum’s tape-check action work:

The tape is tied to a set of wires on the intermediate lever, which also holds the jack, the check head and the damper wire. When a key is depressed, the lever will push upwards, in return pulling down the jack’s escapement and pushing the hammer forwards to hit the strings. While the balance on the lever lies towards the front, the check head will follow and push forwards. This positions the hammer butt as close as possible to the strings. The wire of the tape will start stretching because of its length. It holds back the hammer to avoid it bouncing on the strings again. On the other hand, the movement of the damper wire will release the damper, allowing the strings to vibrate. As the damper is placed above the hammer, the term over-damper action is resulted.